Author Archive: PCC Press Office

BCYA Rally & Shanty Festival

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This years Bristol Channel Yachting Association (BCYA) English Coast Rally is coming to Portishead Marina. It promises to be a fun-filled weekend across the Whitsun Bank Holiday of 25th – 27th May as it will be at the same time as the Portishead Shanty Festival and the EAT Food Festival.

As with all BCYA Rallies, visitors can benefit from discounted berthing, a complimentary drinks reception, an official welcome from the town and a competition for the best dressed boat.

The BCYA have supplied us with the following information for the event so get involved and enjoy the fun!

Suns Out, Racers Out!

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With a perfect evening forecast for sailing, a number of the club’s racing fleet joined the first evening race of the summer season. The evening breeze made for ideal light airs racing and the course provided ample opportunity for the boats to practice their spinnaker hoists and drops ahead of the upcoming Bristol Channel IRC Championships, the Shanghai Cup organised in conjunction with Cardiff Bay Yacht Club.

It was a win for Ctrl-J, the J/109 skippered by Andy Williams that took first place in the penultimate race of the PCC Spring Series putting him in pole position for a series win.

As is the norm, after the race the crews retired to the Sirens Calling to dissect the race, and share stories of a great evening’s sailing out on the water.

If you’ve always wanted to be part of a racing crew, get in touch. You don’t need a boat to join in the fun and PCC Skippers are always on the look out for new crew members.

Latest Cruising News

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If you’re planning your bank holiday or summer cruise, the club has news to share from the recent BCYA meeting attended by PCC. The updates concern Lydney and Watchet harbours.

Lydney Harbour

Members are advised that Lydney Harbour is now managed by the Environment Agency following a £2.1m regeneration scheme that completed in June 2023.

Including a new cafe, visitor centre and public toilets, updated information for visitors can be found here.

Watchet Marina

The club has received reports that the approach lights to Watchet harbour are non-operational and water depths continue to be sub-optimal due to silting.

Any member considering a passage to Watchet should contact the Marina Manager at Watchet Marina to check the latest information.

If members are aware of any other updates to popular locations that are visited across the Bristol Channel or further afield, please contact us so we can share the information with the rest of the membership. Equally, if anything above changes, please let us know!

Locks Reopen!

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The scheduled works on the locks have now been completed. The next race will be an up tide race to the Severn Bridges and back in competition for the Easter Cup. The race will take place on Easter Monday.

For all the race details see the Racing WhatsApp channel. It is expected that all other races will now follow the racing program published on the site racing page.

RNLI Safety at Sea Evening

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Club members recently attended the RNLI lifeboat station in Portishead to hear about the latest innovations in sea safety and survival equipment, tour the boathouse and receive an all-important lifejacket check.

Kicking off the event, Bernd Langheim, Water Safety Officer for the RNLI gave a short briefing on the work of Portishead RNLI, the area it covers and the types of callouts the team attend.

This was followed by a presentation from Dave Herbert, Deputy Duty Harbour Master at Royal Portbury Dock who shared some insight about the growth of the port as a gateway to the UK and the ships that regularly visit – many of which we see when we’re racing in King Road. Members noted that anyone stood on the bridge of a car carrier can only see 200m beyond the bow of the ship – creating a massive blind spot where small craft will not be seen.

After the presentations, members had a tour of the boathouse and learnt about the equipment carried aboard RNLI Portishead’s Atlantic 85, My Lady Anne. This was followed by an opportunity to have personal lifejackets checked. Of the 20 checked, 15 failed due to various faults – the RNLI message being to make sure you service your lifejacket before heading out for the new season!

The RNLI are happy to run further sessions for club members so if you’d like to be added to the waitlist for the next event, please contact us. In the meantime, thanks to the RNLI Portishead volunteers for hosting us!

RNLI Sea Safety Evening

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The RNLI have been in touch to offer members an evening focussed on lifejackets and the latest developments in safety at sea. Designed to be an informal event pitched at both novice and experienced sailors, we would encourage members to attend. Equally, if you’d like the RNLI to give your lifejacket a once over, bring it along!

The event will also feature a short presentation from the Deputy Duty Harbour Master from Royal Portbury Dock who will talk about the dangers associated with sailing in a busy shipping lane.

After the event, members are invited to retire to the nearby Royal Inn for drinks.

The event will take place on 14th March at 19h00 at the RNLI boathouse.

To reserve your spot, please register via the following link. Note that the event space has a capacity of 25 people so don’t delay, reserve your spot today!

Please contact Tim at PCC or Bernd at the RNLI if you have any questions.

Annual Awards Night

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The club wrapped up an extensive sailing season across both cruising and racing fleets at the annual awards night. With Vice Commodore Nick Duppa-Miller as host, it provided a lively, fun-filled review of the year’s racing and cruising activities.

2023 honours were awarded as follows:

Easter CupHullabaloo (Steve, Pete, Tim & Julia)
Regatta RaceCtrl-J (Andy Williams)
Gluhwein RaceCtrl-J (Andy Williams)
King of the RoadsCtrl-J (Andy Williams)
Cockburn CupCtrl-J (Andy Williams)
Autumn SeriesScrumpy-J (Tim, Ian & Nick)
Bristol Channel Cruising CupColin Brooks & Julie Sunderland (Lady Gwyneth)
Longest Cruise from PortisheadRod & Margaret Deacon (Teaselah)
Longest Single Handed CruiseGeoff McBroom (Fly)
Best LogJo Sutton (Molia)
Most Promising NewcomerPaul Sharpe (Khazuki)
Outstanding Services to the Club ShieldTim Pearson & Mark Sutton

Thanks to everyone for coming and congratulations to all the winners, some of which are pictured below! Here’s to another great year of racing and cruising in 2024. If you’d like to join in the fun, drop us a line or come and see us at our weekly club nights at The Old Mill pub from 20h00 on Wednesdays.

Autumn & Gluhwein Cup

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As everyone gears up for the start of a new year, the club has released a press release to local and yachting media announcing the results of the final racing series of 2023 together with the results of the annual Gluhwein Cup which traditionally concludes the club’s racing program for the year.

The Autumn Cup featured five races between September and December.   With individual races being won by Hullabaloo (J/92s), Scrumpy J (J/105), Ctrl-J (J/109) and Hero (One Tonner), it was a close fought series until Scrumpy J, skippered by Nick Duppa-Miller scored another win and took the series.  With a range of weather conditions from light airs at the start of the series to heavier seas towards the end, the Autumn Cup always provides for some tricky sailing conditions and this year was no different.  Crews found themselves using full sail wardrobes to gain the advantage – and in some cases, this happened during one race!

For the final race of the year, called the Gluhwein Cup given its proximity to the festive season, boats headed out for a final race in King Road.  With tight racing on the water with only two minutes between the first three boats, it was Ctrl-J (J/109), skippered by Andy Williams who won on corrected time with Scrumpy J, the J/105 and Hero, a One Tonner closely following in second and third places respectively.

After the race, some of the crews headed to the annual club Christmas lunch to refuel and warm-up after the morning’s race and dissect all of the on-water action.

If you’ve always hankered to be part of a racing yacht crew or want to get back into sailing then the team at PCC would love to hear from you!  The fleet races in a number of club series across the year in the waters of the Bristol Channel – including some evenings during the summer.   The 2024 racing calendar has now been published – contact Vice-Commodore, Nick Duppa-Miller to find out more and get involved – you don’t need a boat to join in the fun!

Festive Fun at the Club

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As the festive season rapidly approaches, the club hosted one of its traditional evenings at the clubhouse. Many club members enjoyed an lively evening listening to the Pill Owls who were bedecked in their Dickensian garb of top hats, fancy weskits and flowing cloaks! While munching on a mince pie and enjoying a glass of mulled wine, members were also treated to a performance from the mudlarks.

On Sunday 17th December, members, including those that had just competed in the annual Gluhwein Cup, enjoyed a full Christmas lunch at the club thanks to the hard work of Val Bundell and her crew. Washed down with drinks from the club bar, everyone enjoyed a traditional Christmas lunch and took the opportunity to discuss their planned sailing adventures for 2024.

If you’re considering joining the club, there’s no time like the present! Check out our membership page or contact our membership secretary, Dave Martin to learn more.

Club Christmas Lunch

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It’s time to start peeling the spuds, prepping the sprouts and getting those turkeys in the oven! Per club tradition, Val Bundell and her crew will be taking to the club kitchen to prepare the annual feast, hosted in the clubhouse. This year lunch will be served at 13h00 on Sunday 17th December and will comprise a main course, desert and cheese.

Demand for tables at this event is always high so get your booking in to Val as soon as possible. Our well stocked bar will be open too, ensuring you’ll be able to enjoy a beer, glass of wine or soft drink with your festive fare.

As our last social event for 2023, this is an event not to miss! Alternatively, if you’re considering joining the club, there’s no time like the present! Check out our membership page or contact our membership secretary, Dave Martin to learn more.